Former First Lady Attends Parkinson’s Event

The people of Parkinson’s Voice Project put their money where their mouths were following a well-attended symposium for three days in June in Richardson.

The nonprofit organization, dedicated solely to speech therapy for Parkinson’s patients, awarded $650,000 in training and therapy sessions to various speech-language pathologists at the event.

The first-ever symposium for PVP included a question-and-answer session with former First Lady Laura Bush, who is involved in volunteering and raising awareness for the Parkinson’s community.

Bush also led an education seminar on PVP’s mission during the symposium.

“[PVP workers] give their patients something to look forward to each week,” she said. “I’m grateful for your important work.”

First lady from 2001 to 2009, Bush has been involved in raising money and awareness for education, early childhood development, teacher treatment, and breast cancer research. She testified before the Senate Committee on Education in 2002, calling for higher teachers’ salaries and better training, and she created the “Ready to Read, Ready to Learn” initiative during her first term.

Her presence at the event was a hit among the pathologists, many of whom had never seen or met Bush in person.

“Mrs. Bush reinforced that it is important for all of us to use our voices to help those in need,” said Samantha Elandary, PVP chief executive officer. “She recognized that the field of speech-language pathology requires empathy and patience, and she encouraged these professionals to serve as advocates for the Parkinson’s population.”

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Timothy Glaze

A journalism graduate of the University of North Texas, Tim has called Dallas home his entire life. He has covered news, schools, sports, and politics in Lake Dallas, Denton, Plano, Allen, Little Elm, and Dallas since 2009 for several publications - The Lake Cities Sun, The Plano Star Courier, the Denton Record Chronicle, and now, People Newspapers. He lives in Denton County with his wife and three dogs.

One thought on “Former First Lady Attends Parkinson’s Event

  • January 25, 2022 at 10:59 am
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    My husband was diagnosed with early onset Parkinson’s disease at 67. His symptoms were shuffling of feet, slurred speech, low volume speech, degradation of handwriting, horrible driving skills, and his right arm is held at 45 degree angle. He was placed on Sinemet for 7 months and then Sifrol and rotigotine were introduced which replaced the Sinemet but he had to stop due to side effects. We tried every shot available but nothing was working. There has been little if any progress in finding a reliable treatment, I quit my meds due to side effects. Our care provider introduced us to Kycuyu Health Clinic Parkinson’s herbal treatment. The treatment is a miracle. My husband has recovered significantly!

    Reply

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